An important part of our process as storytellers and wedding photographers is to get to know our clients. Getting a sense of who they are, who their most important people are, what excites them... knowing all this helps us to be better wedding photographers, but a pretty great side effect of this process is that we end up with new friends!

This time, however, Melissa and Adam were already our friends. In fact, we've known Adam almost a decade. He is a wedding photographer himself, and over the years he has become one of our closest friends, even photographing weddings with us a few times. We've become the type of friends who can be there for each other in the heat of a problem, who can share a tiny apartment in Mexico or a bed at a transit hotel in India (well, Daniel at least). Friends who can be honest and vulnerable enough with each other to share the less than perfect moments and the flat out really difficult moments. We don't have many friends like that, but Adam is one of them.

Adam also has a very specific sense of humour, one that I feel I have learned to understand, and appreciate over the years. In fact when we first heard about Melissa we thought the most important question was, "but does she "get" Adam and his sense of humour?".

We met Melissa in the most intimate of ways: when she and Adam came to stay with us and our 2 very young kids in the dead of winter, at our home in the middle of nowhere. It was like a meet-and-greet bootcamp. I thought she must really love Adam to fly all the way from Texas to Canada, in the middle of winter, just to meet his friends. We quickly learned that she is smart (like, super smart), has travelled a bunch, and most importantly she totally "gets" Adam. We felt so comfortable around her, we even let our guard down and had a disagreement in front of them (oops).

Several months later Adam proposed in Marfa, Texas, the quirky Southwestern town where they took their first trip, and they agreed that they wanted to share this special place with their friends and families and host their wedding there as well. They got ready at El Cosmico, where Adam proposed, met up with their guests at a random intersection, and then caravanned to a pre-scouted spot on the side of the road about 30 minutes outside of town. We were met with a killer view, timed with an even more killer sunset for the ceremony. It felt magical, to be surprised with this stunning location and magical light. Ten years of photographing weddings and we agreed, this was the most beautiful ceremony site we'd ever witnessed (and it was totally free, decor courtesy of Mother Nature).

Melissa and Adam got it so right; they picked a place that was meaningful to them, invited their closest friends and family, took them to the art galleries and installations that they themselves have appreciated on previous visits, exchanged vows that made everyone laugh and cry with the setting sun's golden light painting the mountain range behind them (shoutout to our friend Micah who beautifully officiated), and treated them to a delicious dinner. It was simple, it was majestic, and it was perfect.

Our son Max came along with us, and his highlights were running through Dan Flavin's neon art installations, the cake table which he monopolized, and especially the day-after session location: White Sands, New Mexico. We had dreamed about photographing portraits there for several years, and Melissa and Adam agreed to drive 3 hours so we could play in the sand. It was truly incredible.

Melissa, Adam, we love you guys. We are so grateful for your friendship, and so darn happy that you have found each other. We look forward to seeing what kind of shenanigans our kids will get into together!